Mertris' Record Growth Driven By Vision, Data

Ron Zebeck-legendary for both his vision and some argue his characteristic arrogance-is known for shaking things up: at Advanta, General Motors and, in his current capacity, as CEO of Metris Companies, a subprime credit card issuer.

When others were collecting fat fees for gold cards, he convinced Advanta to waive fees-and the national market for the original precious metal card exploded. Ditto at Household International, where he sweetened rebates to make the GMcard a wildly successful launch. Now, he's taking over the subprime card market.